ChatGPT MCP Requirements for WordPress: Plans, Connection Rules and Permissions

To link ChatGPT with WordPress using MCP, you need to fulfil three criteria: a subscription plan that supports custom MCP Servers, a website accessible via HTTPS, and a custom MCP server configured within ChatGPT to determine your site’s access level.

This detailed guide outlines the technical requirements for both ChatGPT and your WordPress site. For WordPress, the free plugin Easy MCP AI allows your site to function as an MCP server, complete with hosted relay. This plugin is developed by Themeisle, the same team behind this blog.

If you’re unfamiliar with MCP, we recommend reading what MCP entails for WordPress, followed by the guide on installing Easy MCP AI and establishing your first connection.

Before starting the connection process, verify these four key aspects

• Plan: Check the pricing page for Developer mode (beta) included in Plus and Pro accounts. OpenAI’s help documentation outlines read/fetch capabilities for Pro and write actions for Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans—confirm your appropriate plan first.
• Site: Your website must possess a public HTTPS address, or use a Secure MCP Tunnel if it operates on a private or local server.
• Form: Begin the connection process in ChatGPT Plugins by clicking the plus button and selecting Add custom MCP server.
• Access: Start with Read-only access, which you can select on your site’s approval page.

First Requirement: The Appropriate ChatGPT Plan

The pricing page^[1] indicates that Developer mode is available for Plus; however, the help article^[2] does not mention Plus specifically. It restricts full MCP (write actions) to Business, Enterprise, and Edu accounts while describing read/fetch functionalities for Pro. Be sure to inspect your account Settings before assuming eligibility under Plus. The Free plan is clearly marked on both lists, while Go permits the creation and sharing of plugins, albeit with Developer mode absent in the help documentation.

Workspaces introduce additional security measures: within Business accounts, only admins and owners can enable developer mode and launch an application; for Enterprise and Edu, access is granted by admins with role management and the toggle accessible under Settings → Apps → Advanced Settings. OpenAI’s FAQs clarify that MCP applications function on the web, with mobile compatibility presently unavailable.

Second Requirement: A Site Accessible to ChatGPT

ChatGPT is designed to connect exclusively to remote MCP Servers; thus, a private or local server must possess a public HTTPS endpoint, Secure MCP Tunnel, or another HTTPS forwarding service. The tunnel requires a tunnel client, a custom agent managed by the user, published by OpenAI on GitHub.^[8]

Your site must adhere to its own HTTPS rules: Easy MCP AI mandates HTTPS for OAuth on live environments. When a live site attempts to access the service over standard HTTP, Easy MCP AI responds with a 403 error stating “OAuth metadata endpoints require HTTPS” and returns a registration error with a message that begins with “HTTPS is required. This request reached PHP over plain HTTP.” There is a local development switch available; however, the error message warns against its usage on production sites. Establish SSL first, then proceed with form setup.

server-form”>Third Requirement: The Add Custom MCP server Form

In ChatGPT, navigate to Plugins, click the plus button, then select Add custom MCP server.^[4] Provide a name and description. Under Connection, enter your public MCP URL including the /mcp path, or select Tunnel and choose your tunnel (or input its tunnel_id) for Secure MCP Tunnel, configure the authentication settings, acknowledge the risk warning, select “I understand and want to continue,” and finally, select Create as a plugin. ChatGPT will then display the tools and metadata it has identified; to utilise them, install the plugin, initiate new conversations, and type @ to select it.

Older documentation may refer to Connectors or App Directory, which were previous designations: OpenAI’s release notes indicate that connectors transitioned to apps on December 18, 2025, and the App Directory became the Plugin Directory on July 9, 2026.^[5] Terminology can differ based on your account configuration (Settings may show Apps rather than Plugins); Easy MCP AI version 2.0.1 features a connect card labelled “New Plugin form on ChatGPT’s Connectors screen,” while its button directs to chatgpt.com/plugins.

If the Add custom MCP server option is absent, developer mode is likely disabled: in Business accounts, only admins and owners have the ability to activate it (User Settings → Apps → Advanced settings). For Enterprise and Edu accounts, utilise the Settings pathway after gaining access from an admin. For personal plans, check for a developer mode toggle within Settings.

On the WordPress side, the Easy MCP AI Dashboard connect card follows a similar route. Click on the ChatGPT tile (labeled “One click & paste a URL”), then select Connect to ChatGPT, name it (for example, “WordPress”), and input your MCP URL, which appears as https://your-site.com/wp-json/easy-mcp-ai/v1/mcp, as the Connection URL. Keep Authentication set to OAuth, follow the remaining steps (notably, its step 4 instructs you to click Create, referred to as Create as a plugin in OpenAI’s documentation), and approve the connection via your site’s approval page. The card’s third step, confirming functionality, provides a check prompt to paste into ChatGPT that requests it to read the site using wp_get_site_settings without making alterations, and this card updates once the initial call is received. The displayed screenshot shows a local address; your live site will showcase its HTTPS URL instead.

Site Behaviour When ChatGPT Connects

ChatGPT executes the OAuth 2.1 authorisation code flow with PKCE (S256). OpenAI outlines three methods by which it can identify itself to your site: Client ID Metadata Documents (CIMD), dynamic client registration (DCR) or a pre-established OAuth client.^[6] Easy MCP AI version 2.0.1 provides a registration endpoint (DCR is enabled by default) and a CIMD flag, enabling ChatGPT to register its own OAuth client with your site.

Once registered, you will be directed to your site’s approval page, titled Authorize Application. Log in as the WordPress user that ChatGPT will impersonate before granting approval: the page will indicate the client and that specific account (e.g. “Will act on this site as siteadmin (administrator), and not beyond the capabilities of that account.”). The accompanying screenshot exemplifies the approval page for a client named Example MCP client, though in ChatGPT’s case, it will display ChatGPT’s registered client instead. Here, you can select an access level: Full access (complete control, including future tools), Read-only (“The AI can view content, settings and user list, but cannot create, modify, or remove anything.”) or Custom, followed by either Deny or Approve & Continue.

You retain the ability to revoke ChatGPT’s permissions at any moment under Easy MCP AI → Connections → OAuth, noting that revoking does not undo changes already made, including deletions. All MCP tool calls, including reads, are recorded in the Audit log under Easy MCP AI → Activity.

What ChatGPT is Permitted to Do: Two Control Layers

ChatGPT determines when to request your approval, while your site controls which tools can be accessed. Once you enable its approval settings, the platform may request your consent as well. Permission options on the ChatGPT side include Always ask, Allow read actions, Allow low-risk actions, and Allow all actions; the availability of these features depends on your plan, the app, and your workspace.^[3] For write or modification actions, ChatGPT may seek confirmation based on permissions, context, and potential consequences; in some instances of significant risk, actions may be blocked.

In a fresh WordPress 7.1.2 site running solely Easy MCP AI 2.0.1, a Read-only grant identified 62 tools; an attempt to write yielded the response: “Token does not have permission to use this tool.” The same site with a Full access grant listed 120 tools (including 64 read-only markers, 18 destructive actions such as deletions, spam and trash removals, and 38 additional tools including 37 relevant for creating, updating, and moderating plus one diagnostics tool), enabling the write request to succeed on a draft post. The figures may vary in Easy MCP AI 2.1.0 or later versions, which activate more core tools by default. These also fluctuate with any plugin integrations and data providers that you enable, and, on WordPress 6.9 and above, with the non-destructive capabilities activated during the initial setup.

Easy MCP AI labels its tools to indicate safety measures (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint), and OpenAI tests these features to guide ChatGPT’s confirmation decisions; however, they “do not replace authorisation, validation, or confirmation processes on your server”.^[7]

A notable risk is prompt injection: the text ChatGPT processes, including comments, form entries, or product reviews, may carry directives that influence a model that has write access. OpenAI recommends connecting only to trusted Servers, while OWASP identifies prompt injection as the foremost risk in its LLM Top 10.^[9] Therefore, it is advisable to start with Read-only access, set ChatGPT to Always ask or Allow read actions, leave the default tools disabled, and consider activating the Ask before destructive actions option.

If any tools on your site are altered and the server was connected directly in ChatGPT, follow OpenAI’s instructions: open the connection within ChatGPT Plugins, select Refresh, confirm that the relevant metadata has been amended, and then initiate a new conversation. For a published workspace application, the process is different: in Business, an admin recreates and republishing it, while for Enterprise and Edu, an admin refreshes its actions, with new actions becoming disabled by default.

Troubleshooting

• ChatGPT Cannot Connect: Your site must have a public HTTPS address; a private or local server requires a Secure MCP Tunnel or an HTTPS forwarding endpoint. If the registration error states that the request reached PHP over plain HTTP despite HTTPS being served by a proxy or CDN, ensure that WordPress configures $_SERVER[“HTTPS”] properly in wp-config.php to reflect the forwarded protocol, as noted in the error text. Additionally, disable any other MCP plugins on the site; multiple OAuth endpoints may confuse AI clients.
• Add Custom MCP server Option is Absent: This could be due to developer mode not being enabled, or a workplace policy restricting custom Servers; refer to the plan table and the developer mode instructions above, or consult your workspace administrator for clarity.
• Tools Missing or Outdated: Refresh the connection in ChatGPT Plugins, then restart a new conversation.
• Write Access Denied: The site’s permissions may be set to Read-only, the tool might be one that a fresh install automatically disables (such as user, plugin, theme changes, or site settings), or your ChatGPT permissions or plan may not accommodate write actions.

Conclusion

Regardless of your plan, it’s advisable to initiate with a Read-only grant on your site’s approval page; for Business, Enterprise, or Edu accounts, where OpenAI specifies write actions, consider transitioning to Custom or Full access once you have established trust in the setup. Easy MCP AI is available free of charge, inclusive of all tools, boasting over 10,000 active installations and a pristine 100/100 rating from 11 reviews on wordpress.org.

Are you still deciding on a server plugin? Our comparison on the server-plugins/”>best WordPress MCP server plugins offers a comprehensive overview; for ChatGPT features within wp-admin, don’t miss our ChatGPT WordPress plugins roundup.

Have you successfully connected ChatGPT to your WordPress site, or is your progress hindered by one of the prerequisites? Share your experiences in the comments below!

References

• [1] ChatGPT pricing, plan feature labels, captured 2026-10-06.
• [2] Developer mode and MCP apps in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, captured 2026-10-06.
• [3] Managing app permissions in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center, captured 2026-10-06.
• [4] Connect and test your plugin, OpenAI Developers, captured 2026-10-06.
• [5] ChatGPT release notes, OpenAI Help Center, captured 2026-10-06.
• [6] Authenticate your users, OpenAI Developers, captured 2026-10-06.
• [7] server“>Build an MCP server, OpenAI Developers, captured 2026-10-06.
• [8] Secure MCP Tunnel client, OpenAI on GitHub, captured 2026-10-06.
• [9] LLM01:2025 Prompt Injection, OWASP Gen AI Security Project, captured 2026-10-05.

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